Abstract

Fat embolism syndrome is an infrequent entity, of which its pathophysiological mechanism is not clear. It occurs as a complication of long bone fractures or high energy trauma. Its presentation is insidious, which is why it is underdiagnosed and the clinic must be correlated with the imaging findings to identify it. We present a case report of a patient with fat embolism with the purpose of characterizing the symptoms, as well as the imaging findings that may occur during the course of the disease in these patients. It is of great importance to recognize the imaging signs that may occur and not rule out the pathology in the absence of these since they do not always appear.

Key words: fat embolism syndrome, star field pattern, diaphyseal fracture